50-year-old<\/a> strength and conditioning coach is well-versed in building blockbuster muscle.<\/p>\n![\"WEST](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/fit_well_588\/4537d53cfb2008679ad337d6f01e76e8.jpg\"\/)
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Actor Matt Damon, wife Luciana Damon and personal\/celebrity trainer Jason Walsh attend the grand opening of Rise Nation Fitness Studio’s in Los Angeles on Aug 21, 2015 | Credit: Getty Images\/ Mark Davis<\/p>\n
But regardless of their fame or past sporting pedigree, there are six fundamental movement patterns he gets everyone who walks through his gym door to master before moving on.<\/p>\n
Fail to do so, he says, and everything falls apart.<\/p>\n
“The foundations are so important,” he says, moments after cutting short a remote training session with Road House actor Jake Gyllenhaal to speak with Fit&Well.<\/p>\n
“You might have a plan to build this beautiful house, but if you don’t anchor the house with an incredible foundation, something could come along that just f**** it all up, you know.”<\/p>\n
Walsh prefers to nail down those fundamentals with primitive movement patterns we’ve learned since birth: lunging, squatting, carrying, rotating, pushing and pulling.<\/p>\n
“These are the basics,” he says. “These are the fundamentals of the house.”<\/p>\n
Failure to master these fundamentals, he argues, is the reason most people struggle to build momentum and consistency with exercise.<\/p>\n
“If you don’t, you’re going to get hurt. You’re going to get frustrated. You’re going to get p****d off and you’re going to stop. Then this whole cycle starts over again.”<\/p>\n
Pressed on which of his Walk of Fame celebrities still practice these fundamentals, and how often, he replies: “Everyone. Every day.”<\/p>\n
“We work them into our warm-ups. We never ever lose the fundamentals. It’s not an Instagram workout. It’s not flashy or cool. We teach people. We stress them. We rinse and repeat.”<\/p>\n
Over time, through repetition, that mentality builds discipline, he says.<\/p>\n
It builds the foundations that allow you to build the house\u2014or body\u2014fit for the big screen.<\/p>\n
“You can’t replicate it. There’s no pill for it. There’s no shortcut.”<\/p>\n
How to put Walsh’s advice into practice<\/p>\n
Whenever Walsh works with a new client\u2014celebrity or otherwise\u2014he starts with a movement screen to address any injuries or weaknesses.<\/p>\n
“I treat everybody like they’re new,” he says. “We do an assessment. I look to see how their body moves, look for the red flags and then I address those issues.”<\/p>\n
His work with The Odyssey star Matt Damon is a prime example.<\/p>\n
“He’s a client I’ve worked with for years and years. [Before our first session] he was very frustrated. He told me his shoulder hurt and he couldn’t lift his arm over his head. He couldn’t play with his kid because his back hurt.”<\/p>\n
Previous trainers, he explained, hadn’t addressed underlying issues and asymmetries.<\/p>\n
Walsh took two weeks to unlock Damon’s tight shoulder. Then another two to fix his back.<\/p>\n
“It was like this weird ah-ha moment. At that point he was like, ‘Dude, I’m all yours. You’ve earned it.’ All of that stuff gave Matt the foundation and ability to train hard.”<\/p>\n
To resolve long-standing imbalances, as he did with Damon, Walsh will break down and rebuild six key movement patterns: the lunge, squat, carry, rotation, push and pull.<\/p>\n
These will then become the cornerstone of every warm-up, using bodyweight and isometric holds to improve muscular strength and joint stability.<\/p>\n
Here’s how you can apply Walsh’s technique to your next workout.<\/p>\n
Build your session by choosing one exercise from each of the options below. Each variation increases in difficulty from left to right.<\/p>\n
Perform each exercise as straight sets for two to three sets of 10-12 reps (30-60sec for the carries), resting 60 seconds between sets.<\/p>\n
Pick a weight that allows you to perform each exercise with good form but that challenges you to complete each set flawlessly.<\/p>\n
The options:<\/p>\n
Lunge: Split squat, reverse lunge, Bulgarian split squat<\/p>\n
Squat: Sit-to-stand, bodyweight squat, goblet squat<\/p>\n
Push: Wall push-up, push-up, dumbbell bench press<\/p>\n
Pull: Inverted row, dumbbell bent-over row, pull-up<\/p>\n
Carry: Farmer’s carry, suitcase carry, waiter’s walk<\/p>\n
Rotation: Russian twist, dumbbell wood chop, cable Pallof press<\/p>\n
For example, a beginner-friendly version could look like this, resting 60sec between sets:<\/p>\n
1. Split squat: Sets: 2-3 Reps: 10-12<\/p>\n
2. Sit-to-stand: Sets: 2-3 Reps: 10-12<\/p>\n
3. Wall push-up: Sets: 2-3 Reps: 10-12<\/p>\n
4. Inverted row: Sets: 2-3 Reps: 10-12<\/p>\n
5. Farmer’s carry: Sets: 2-3 Time: 30-60sec each side<\/p>\n
6. Russian twist: Sets: 2-3 Reps: 10-12 each side<\/p>\n
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